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Thursday, 17 November 2016

Govan Law Centre is concerned with the current debate on the Scottish Social Security
Bill and we are calling on anti-poverty groups to back us to get this debate moving
from “techno-speak”, to what is really important for Scots.The transfer of social security powers to the Scottish Parliament should at very
least prompt a national debate on poverty, low incomes, and re-distribution of
income. And what we are going to do about it. To date the debate has
been about new government agencies, IT systems, inter-government wrangling,
power transfers, and language. What poorer families need now, is cash in their pockets.The working Group on Child Poverty urged ministers to use new social security
powers at Holyrood to fund an increase in child benefit. The group said an
increase of £5 per child per week would lift 30,000 children out of poverty in
Scotland, at a cost of £256m a year.This is a start. So let’s do it.Or at very least
let us debate it in the Scottish Parliament. We need MSPs from all parties to back an amendment to the social security bill or a
private members bill which proposes serious increases to benefits for
vulnerable people in Scotland. Otherwise
what is the point. Scots gain nothing from administering benefits in Stirling
rather than Blackpool. It makes no difference to their lives where laws are
made, decisions adjudicated or benefits paid. As long as decisions are
accurate, quick and without fuss, and benefit rates are increased.

Why, for example, has the Scottish Government not produced a report and recommendations
into the inadequacies of the social security system? How we can increase the
incomes of vulnerable people in Scotland, as soon as we possibly can. We
thought this is what it was all about. Is it because the Scottish Government
don’t want to start this debate in Scotland? Is there no appetite to spend
money on the poorest and tax the wealthy to pay for it? This is our chance
to start building the Scandinavian social model many say we need and
want.

Any new system needs be efficient to treat people with respect use the right language
and make decisions quickly. And it will be complex to set up. It will need an
IT system. But the Scottish Government have known this for a long time.

People in poverty cannot wait for years for a central administering agency to be set up
in Scotland. We all know this will take years, and we will no doubt get a
myriad of IT problems as we always do. But those on low incomes in Scotland
need to know we are at least planning to make a step change increase in their
incomes. Scottish ministers must get on top of this and lead the debate now.
There is no excuse The Scottish Government has had years to prepare. They need
to show people what can be done.

We need a substantive government report about how we can administer real increases in
benefits in the meantime, while they set up a Scottish Social Security
Agency.

Local government can administer payments, they already administer housing benefit and
council tax benefit - even though policy was set centrally by UK statutes.
Surely they can do the same for any other benefit using Scottish statutes? They
have everyone’s name and address.

Social work has powers under social work acts to make cash payments and arguably to
set up benefits. They could be asked to make cash payments to disabled people who
come within their care. We can use our imagination to make payments through
self-directed care or other social work structures.

GLC’s worry is that rather than having an exciting debate about increasing incomes,
redistribution, poverty reduction and inequality, we are having disappointing
debate about where powers lie, new government agencies, IT systems and
difficulty ministers are having.

If we need to we can phase in benefit increases but let us start on what those
increases should be, and how we will pay for them in the interim and long term.
When introducing child benefit in the 1970s the UK had similar problems, but they passed legislation and phased in child benefit over
a few years. That is what we need to do this in Scotland.

This is important. We need to set the tone of the debate now. Those who
have the powers to improve the lives of the most vulnerable must be held accountable. The
Scottish Parliament will have power over at least eleven social security
benefits. Much more if they use their imagination and put their minds to it. We
can choose a different social model. Our Scottish Government wants the whole
social security system, we need to hold them to account and ask if this is the
debate we can expect to have then why bother?

It’s not difficult. It’s about political will. Govan Law Centre proposes a campaign that
everyone can join to get this into the Scottish Parliament. Here’s one
example we’ve thought of that could be done quickly; there are many more which
could immediately help the lives of people in Scotland.

A proposed Increase
in Child Benefit (Scotland) Act 2016

1 Scottish Child Benefit

(1) There
shall be a benefit to be known as Scottish child benefit.

(2) Subject
to the provisions of this Part of this Act, a person who is treated as
responsible for one or more children under the Child Benefit Act 2005 and is
resident in Scotland, and whose child is resident in Scotland shall be paid an
increase in child benefit called “Scottish child benefit”.